traffic

The D66 in Amsterdam is calling for a regional tolling system on the roads around the Dutch capital. Motorists who want to reach Amsterdam during busy periods like rush hour, must pay an additional tax, according to D66 city councilor Bart Vink. The aim is to keep the city accessible during peak times, the Telegraaf reports.

For the second day in a row, the record for the busiest morning rush hour of the year was broken on Dutch roads. At the peak of rush hour at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, there were 894 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch highways and provincial roads, five kilometers longer than yesterday, according to the ANWB.

Monday was the busiest morning rush hour of the year due to a large number of accidents and rain in many places, according to the ANWB. At the peak of morning rush hour, there was 889 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch roads, NOS reports.

The Randstad and the southern parts of the Netherlands saw the most problems on Monday morning. There were long traffic jams on the A4, A58 and A12. On the A9 between Alkmaar and Diemen, there was a delay of up to 50 minutes.

Motorists should be aware of reduced visibility due to fog during rush hour on Wednesday morning, meteorological institute KNMI warns. A code yellow weather warning is currently in effect for Gelderland and Utrecht, but the KNMI believes that other areas may also be affected.

Traffic association ANWB thinks that giving lorries and other freight traffic their own, separate lane will help in the fight against the ever increasing traffic jams on Dutch roads. A report containing 10 possible solutions to help decrease traffic in the Netherlands, will be presented to the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday, AD reports.

The growing Dutch economy also means growing traffic jams in the Netherlands, and those jams cost billions of euros, according to a report by the knowledge institute for mobility policy KiM that newspaper AD has in its possession. According to the KiM, traffic in the Netherlands will increase 1.7 percent next year, and 1.2 percent in the years after that.

Windy autumn weather is expected to cause extra traffic jams on Dutch roads on Thursday morning. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code orange weather warning for the Wadden area, and a code yellow for the rest of the country, warning of strong gusts reaching speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour. Only Noord-Brabant doesn't have to worry about strong winds today.

The new Botlek bridge in the Rotterdam port area was hit with its 100th disruption on Friday morning. The bridge lifted at 6:00 a.m. and then refused to go back down. Ships could pass beneath it, but no cars could cross over it. At around 8:00 a.m. the bridge came back down, but then refused to lift again, NOS reports.

On Thursday the Botlek bridge was also closed due to a malfunction in the lock. The failure lasted 7.5 hours, causing long traffic jams.

The first autumn storm to hit the Netherlands this season, is starting to take its toll across the country. Schiphol had to close down a number of runways due to the strong winds. The A13 highway between Delft and Rotterdam was closed for a time after a tree fell on a car. And NS is running fewer trains on a number of routes.

The German A3 highway towards Arnhem will be closed for five days next week due to the discovery of what is believed to be a World War II bomb under the road, AD reports.

The road will be closed between Wessel and Hamminkeln, about 50 kilometers southeast of Arnhem, from 7:00 a.m. on Monday September 18th to 8:00 p.m. on Friday September 22nd, according to the newspaper. German media warns of long traffic jams towards the Netherlands.

After six weeks of relatively quiet roads, commuters can expect more traffic on Monday as schools in the central regions of the Netherlands reopen after the summer holiday. Safe traffic association VVN warns motorists to keep a wary eye out for children crossing the road or cycling to school today, AD reports.

Safe traffic association VVN would like to reduce the number of men's bicycles on Dutch roads. According to the association, the high top tube on men's bicycles is more dangerous than the lower tube on women's bikes, ANP reports.

Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning stating that thick mists could cause traffic problems during morning rush hour. The warning is in effect for most of the country.

The mist is expected to dissipate around 9:00 a.m.

"Dangerous driving conditions due to poor visibility. Adjust speed and keep a sufficient following distance. Fog can be treacherous by sudden occurrence. Follow weather reports and warnings", the KNMI advises.

Despite Amsterdam's reputation as the world's bicycle city, cars are still king in the Dutch capital, according to a study done by Geodan on behalf of environmental organization Milieudefensie. Motorists take up about 48 percent of Amsterdam's space, while cyclists make do with only 11 percent.

The municipality of Amsterdam will soon start removing shared bicycles left parked in public spaces, the municipality said in a press statement. Public spaces may not be used as a place of issue and bike sharing companies that do so are hindering city traffic by using up the already scarce bicycle parking, according to the city.

Part of the A9 highway is closed between the junction Raasdorp en Haarlem Zuid on Wednesday morning due to a fire. The fire broke out in a storage unit near Polderbaan on Schiphol, NOS reports.

Large clouds of smoke could be seen coming from the building on Schipholweg. Schipholweg and part of the A9 were closed and a lower speed limit is in effect for the highway. Air traffic is not hindered by the fire. But motorists should take into account that it may take longer than usual to reach the airport this morning.

No trains are traveling between Leeuwarden and Zwolle on Monday morning after a person was killed in a fatal accident on the N31 near Widrum in Friesland. A car drove down the slope and ended up next to the track. According to broadcaster NOS, the car caught fire and the driver was killed.

The driver was the only person inside the car. The N31 was closed down in both directions so that emergency services could do their work.

The A10 Ring road in Amsterdam is closed from today for six weeks for maintenance work. Motorists traveling in and around Amsterdam during rush hour should take up to 30 minutes of extra travel time into account for the coming weeks, Ricardo Nuijens, environment manager at Rijkswaterstaat, said to AT5.

The police found the body of a truck driver in his truck on the A1 highway near Deventer. The truck was parked in the emergency lane. The police believe the driver became unwell, pulled over and then died, AD reports.

The trucker was found early on Wednesday morning. The police had to close a lane on the highway to investigate, resulting in a 17 kilometer long traffic jam. The road was open again around 8:00 a.m.

With the region Zuid starting summer holiday this afternoon, the ANWB expects the roads to be extremely busy on Friday and Saturday, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Be ready to spend time in traffic jams, according to the service, AD reports.

Heavy rainfall across the Netherlands caused problems in many places on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday Weerplaza expected up to 50 millimeters of rain to fall in some places on Wednesday. Around 10:00 a.m. the most rain had fallen in Zuid-Holland and Zeeland, about 34 millimeters, according to the weather service.

Primary schools teachers across the Netherlands are striking this morning. Almost all primary schools in the country will open at 9:30 a.m., instead of 8:30 a.m. One positive side effect to this strike, is that traffic information service VID expects less traffic on the road during rush hour this morning.

Sunshine and high temperatures are expected for the Netherlands this weekend. Weerplaza expects many Dutch to head towards the beaches, and warns motorists to be ready for traffic jams - be sure to have drinking water and sunscreen in the car.